2013 upgrade help and ideas

[smuggs]

After reading that itunes hi res blog, i have thought after christmas it may be time to start to upgrade.

samsung laptop on 24/7 running squeezebox server under my stairs -

squeezebox duet -

dac magic -

denon 1909.

my improvements would be not having a laptop running 24/7 , being able to in the future downlaod hi res tracks ect. but i really want to keep it controlled by my samsung phone and ipad2.

My first thought was sell my laptop which is a spare ebay add a bit and get a western digital my book 1tb to sit on my netgear fast switch.

then sell my logitech duet and add the rest and get a sonos z90

then im guessing i would have to replace my dac magic for a dac capable of hi res.

does this sound about right. many thanks in advance simon

 

[The_Lhc]

then sell my logitech duet and add the rest and get a sonos z90

then im guessing i would have to replace my dac magic for a dac capable of hi res.

Sonos cannot handle "hi-res" files, it is limited to 16bit/44kHz maximum.

 

[smuggs]

forgot to say spotify is a must as well.

ok so its this years away then what network players that can read of a network harddrive and access spotify from a rj45 cable and less than £500 can handle alac,mp4a,mp3 and be future proof for me and i would also need a dac unless it can send rcas to my denon 1909. many thanks

 

[The_Lhc]

forgot to say spotify is a must as well.

Sonos can do that.

ok so its this years away then what network players that can read of a network harddrive and access spotify from a rj45 cable and less than £500 can handle alac,mp4a,mp3 and be future proof for me and i would also need a dac unless it can send rcas to my denon 1909. many thanks

I think the Simple Audio Roomplayer can do all that, although I think it still needs twonky or something like that running, so won't pull songs straight of a NAS without any software running, unlike Sonos. I think the Roomplayer is about 500 quid as well though.

 

[smuggs]

i was really keen to swap my duet for sonos and then just put a network hardrive in and then lose the laptop running 24/7 which is costing £48 a year to run. And i have only heard great things about sonos.

so what is the highest quailty sonos can go up to. plus will it outdated in the next 2 years and is my dac magic from 3 years ago outdated yet.

 

[The_Lhc]

so what is the highest quailty sonos can go up to.

I have already answered that but 16bit/44kHz, or CD quality to you and me.

plus will it outdated in the next 2 years and is my dac magic from 3 years ago outdated yet.

I don't see any reason why any of this gear would be "outdated", Sonos has been around for a number of years now and is still fully compatible with the original players (which is one of Sonos' design principles). I can't see any circumstances under which a DAC would become "outdated".

 

[smuggs]

my dac cant do 192/24 only 96/24 and sonos cant so its just how important hi res downloads are and on my home cinema amp im guessing i would not hear any improvements. So a move to sonos is sideways but still looks like a real improvement on not having a laptop on having to use a 3rd party spotify app and the software ive heard is more stable.

so if itunes does improve there downloads will it add a middle ground say 16/44 so we have at least cd quailty then.

 

[Overdose]

If you really must have 'high-res' files, then Sonos will obviously be a no go, but I think high-res is overrated and I have tested high res vs CD quality.

So, in your shoes, I'd either be looking at a NAS/Sonos combo or Mac mini, both systems running into a suitable DAC.

My system has no problems with high-res files, but I don't use them, as I simply do not hear the improvements over 16/44.

 

[SteveR750]

If you really must have 'high-res' files, then Sonos will obviously be a no go, but I think high-res is overrated and I have tested high res vs CD quality.

So, in your shoes, I'd either be looking at a NAS/Sonos combo or Mac mini, both systems running into a suitable DAC.

My system has no problems with high-res files, but I don't use them, as I simply do not hear the improvements over 16/44.

OD I know this is slightly of topic, but are you sure your Mac isn't interfering with the streaming of your hi res files? You should be able to distinguish fairly easily the differences with a properly set up PC system, assuming it's not simply an upsampled recording of the original 16/44 files.

 

[Overdose]

If you really must have 'high-res' files, then Sonos will obviously be a no go, but I think high-res is overrated and I have tested high res vs CD quality.

So, in your shoes, I'd either be looking at a NAS/Sonos combo or Mac mini, both systems running into a suitable DAC.

My system has no problems with high-res files, but I don't use them, as I simply do not hear the improvements over 16/44.

OD I know this is slightly of topic, but are you sure your Mac isn't interfering with the streaming of your hi res files? You should be able to distinguish fairly easily the differences with a properly set up PC system, assuming it's not simply an upsampled recording of the original 16/44 files.

I have downloaded 24/96 files and resampled them to 16/44. I can then play back the files, switching between the two resolutions. I have tried with all the output settings, no differences detected and the files when overlayed, are identical.

If you are interested and want to compare files yourself, try 'Audacity'. I believe it's still free.

I'm long past worrying about the remote possibility of minute differences between digital files or even sources. Life's too short. If such small differences exist (and I've not heard any myself), I'm certainly not going to be straining my ears, listening intently for them. I prefer to just sit back and listen to my music nowadays without faff. I have a user friendly, compact system that works flawlessly and that is enough for me. When I do make a change, it will be for features or more capable active speakers.